As modern, driven women with our busy schedules and careers on our minds, we are impatient when it comes to solutions; always looking for some quick fix in a bottle. Case in point: fad diets, slimming pills and spot creams.

The same is true for our quest for beautiful, long, black hair. We often resort to a myriad of ridiculous solutions. We destroy our hair with chemical straightening systems, like rebonding, relaxing and straightening, hoping that it will magically treat our unruly, frizzy hair. The result: stick straight hair that looks even more disastrous than our original locks. We often forget about the side effects, like a head full of formaldehyde that can’t be good for your hair, skin or health.

The good news is there is now a way to treat our unruly hair problems including their damage. Of course, I’m not talking about some quick fix that leaves us worse for wear in the long run. I’m talking about a solution that will keep you happy for months. The buzz around town is that the solution we’ve been waiting for is a Keratin Hair Treatment.

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The history

For the last three years, Keratin Complex has been making waves all over the world and changing women’s lives for the better. In early May 2010, Keratin Complex landed on our shores, giving Filipino women an alternative to popular services like rebonding, relaxing and straightening. Founded by renowned stylist, Peter Coppola, Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy gives you the benefits of having beautiful hair, without damaging chemicals as it rebuilds, restores, and rejuvenates all kinds of hair with products specially formulated with 40-percent natural keratin. Keratin is the protein that makes hair shiny and healthy.

The buzz

Keratin hair treatment and its products are a big hit in the market and draw big public demand. The Keratin Complex Smoothing System actually improves the health of your hair by locking the Keratin into the cuticle of the hair shaft, thereby smoothing frizz dramatically and repairing hair back to its natural state. Keratin Complex is free of harsh chemicals including formaldehyde that other smoothing treatments contain. You can still wear your hair curly if you have naturally curly or wavy hair, the treatment just makes it that much easier for you to style and wear straight if you choose to.

And that’s exactly what my friend needed for this treatment test drive—to blow-dry with ease and be out the door and off to work in less than an hour.

The procedure

The whole process takes two and a half hours and the effect lasts three to five months, depending on client’s lifestyle and original hair condition. This treatment requires the client to not wet hair up to 72 hours.

“The best thing about the treatment is that the more you do it, the better your hair condition becomes,” adds Zulueta. Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy reduces up to 95 percent of frizz and is recommended to those who do not want stick straight hair or those who want to lose their curls. It is also recommended for those with damaged hair due to bleaching, rebonding, and chemically damaged hair.

“It’s an exciting product that’s easier to sell to more discerning clients because you can still color and highlight your hair as much as you want without any dryness or damage,” says Drea. Keratin treatments promote healing while keeping the toxins in the environment such as smoke, pollution and ultraviolet rays from entering the hair. The service will cost about P5,000 to P10,000 depending on the length of hair.

If you’re hesitant to commit and want to test-drive the original treatment for a shorter period, you can try the Keratin Complex Express Blowout. Unlike Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy, Express Blowout only takes an hour but produces the same effect—soft and shiny hair in a snap. The effect lasts up to six weeks and is recommended for clients who can’t last the 72-hour no-shampoo rule, since Express Blowout clients can wash their hair in just eight hours.

The venue

The best place to go is in a Salon that specializes in this. Go to Straight and Smooth Salon where hair stylists are especially trained and have been certified to do the Keratin Complex Smoothing treatment. Weeks after my friend’s Keratin treatment, she was happy to report that her daily styling time was cut in half. Her hair looked healthier and shinier. But the biggest thanks of all came from her husband, because he no longer had to spend mornings waiting for his wife to get ready.

Straight and Smooth Salon is at the UG/F, Vernida I Condominium, 120 Amorsolo St., Makati City; tel. 632-7595105. Catch the Early Bird, Straight and Smooth promo for March: 20-percent off on all services, 8- 10 a.m.